Sewage disinfection.



C. FRANK. SEWAGE INSINFECTIQIL xmzwnmnou FILED APR. 24. 1am

Pammd May 25, i915,

LESLIE C. FRANK, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRIGT OF COLUMBIA.

SEWAGE DISINFECTIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 24, 1915. Serial No. 23,771.

(DEDICATED TO THE PUBLIC.)

To (ZZZ whomit may concern Be it known that I, LESLIE C. FRANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of lVashington, District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewage Disinfection.

The invention herein described may be used by the Government Or any of its officers, or employees, in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without the payment of any royalty. (Act of March 3, 1883.)

The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for disinfecting the sewage as it is received directly from a toilet or closet.

The invention is specially designed to be used in connection with toilets or closets of railway coaches, or vessels.

The desirability of disinfecting the sewage of vessels traveling in lanes as heavily frequented as those on the Great Lake system has been emphasized by the studies of Devalin (Public Health Reports, Vol. V) and of the International Joint Commission on Boundary lVaters. In these lanes of fresh water travel, within a very short time after one steamer has discharged toilet wastes, another steamer will pass over the same spot and take in drinking water. Furthermore, these lanes of travel pass close by the drinking Water intakes of a number of large cities. The present situation with regard to railways passing over water supply areas is even more serious. The dangers of disease infection due to these conditions need no comment.

The process of disinfecting depends upon the bactericidal property of heat and is carried on by means of the apparatus disclosed in the annexed drawing in which Figure l is a sectional view of one form of the apparatus; and Fig. 2 is asectional view of a modified form of apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, the device is composed of: a chamber T insulated by some heat insulating material G such as the common magnesia cement, or sawdust; an influent pipe B penetrating nearly to the bottom of the tank; an effluent pipe A penetrating nearly to the bottom of the tank, and perforated at some point near the top of the tank by a small hole H about i in diameter; a steam pipe F provided with an ordinary straight-Way valve E and a float C.

The lever handle of the straight-way valve has been removed and replaced by a disk at the center of which is freely pivoted the lever arm of the float (1', and which disk is provided with two pins, I and J, and a weighted member L for assisting to suddenly open or close the valve in a well known manner. X represents a drain through which sand and similar particles may be occasionally flushed.

The operation of this'device is as follows: Assume that the initial water level in the tank is at K. The steam valve E is in its closed position and the influent'pipe B is submerged below the water level; in other words, the influent pipe B is even at the times of minimum water level in the tank. The entrance of sewage into the tank through B causes the level of water in the tank to rise gradually and to carry the float upward with it. The float arm, however, is pivoted freely upon the steam valve disk and therefore does not turn on the steam by revolving the disk until it engages the pin 1, 2'. 6. until the liquid in the tank has reached a certain predetermined height dependent upon the position of the pin I. When this height of water is reached the steam is suddenly turned on. For a time the entering steam is immediately condensed and gives up its heat to the water. The water dependent upon the rate and pressure of the steam discharge. As the temperature of the water approaches the boiling point the steam ceases condensing in the water, but rises through the water and collects in the chamber space above it. At about the boiling point of water, or a trifle above, pressure develops in this upper space and gradually forces the sewage up and out through efliuent pipe A. As the liquid discharges the water-level and the float descends. The steam, however, remains turned on full until the float arm engages pin J, when a slight further descent shuts off the steam. The level of liquid at which the steam is shut off,

i and at which discharge from the tank immediately ceases, may be predetermined by the position of the pin (l provided to enable the air in the tank to escape as the sewage enters. The relation of the size of this hole to the total crosssection areas of the steam influent openings Patented May 25, 1915.

always trapped,

thus becomes heated at a rate- The small hole H is closed above as if hole H through pi e F can and there ore pres-. tank practical lg as fast were not present. hishole sure develops m the may bereplaced by which will be open below say 80 'G, and

It would be advisable P y o the discharge :of the contents at that time.

The steam supply valve stem can be madetoa penetrate the car floor external to the toilet room," andthus causeno more in its operation than the presentlocking oi? the toilet doors. The disinfector would have for the a sufficient reserveca'pacity to-care period of standing in stations.

. be in'the a t of cha the Stetidn u approached the mere shutting steam willatlonce toilet be discontinue-the action. Discharg Twill also cease immediately if the flushed and not begin again until the added material has been brought to the boiling point.

In the modified form of the apparatus, 2, the effluent pipe A ismade.

shown in Fig. of sufiicient length tion of the ployed. This pipe is provided with an open- M near the'bottom of the samefor the entrance of the sewage The pipe F, instead. of terminating in the tank T as in Fig. 1, ends in an ejector nozzle 0 at the bottom to insure the disinfecby theopening M contained in a simple thermo-valve 7 that temperature, but the per-- centage ofsteam 'escaping' through H is so low that it is negligible; initial .heatingof thesewage that the steam supthefdevicebe closed while the train 1 is standing in "a'pass'enger station'to avoid,

required organisms in the sewage.

inconvenience I -term1ned 'by'the position oi -thejjpin If the device 1 r of the sewage at the temperature 'emz- 'nection with said in such 'a manner that the from this nozzle, in passing will draw 'in the sewage the tank through the pipe A.

of the pipe A steam issuing T and eject the same :The valve disk of the 'valveE is provided with a weighted member Lso as tocause the valve E to'open and close suddenly. In this form of the apparatus thedismfecting action is due to the i as it enters the pipe A' 'and 'ther continued heating as it passes up through ftheifsame. p of the pipe shoilld -be such that'the time for the sewage to I same will be suflicient' to vkill allpathogemc tion, when [the sewagereaches-at height de- 1 the The length pass through the n' the modificaweight member L .w-il'lifall to the right, suddenly opening the valveE; .The steam passing through the-nozzle 0 will eject the sewage through the pipe .at the-same time thoroughly disintegratingjthe same so as to expose all bacteria 'to the action of the steam. The nozzle 0- can be made large enough-to admit sufficient steam to heat the sewage to any desired temperature. a

I claim r. v Means for disinfecting sewage comprising a closed tank having inlet and outlet con- Y duits opening into the lower part of the tank and the outlet pipe extending to a level above the tank, a pipe for conducting steam into contact with the sewage, a float, and a valve ,invsaid pipe having a lost-motion confloat.

LESLIE or FRANK. 

